Thirteen Daily Immigration Arrests in Washington: Despite state and local laws meant to protect Washington immigrants from the Trump administration, newly released data from UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project shows an increased rate of arrests by immigration police between last October and March. Twenty-one hundred people have been arrested, according to the Washington State Standard, though this is likely an undercount based on the exclusion of Customs and Border Protection arrests.
Should Washington Legislators Work Harder? KUOW has a story detailing the push by some in Washington to extend the state’s legislative session to a year-round schedule. The primary arguments are that Washington is no longer a frontier cowtown that can fit all necessary lawmaking into alternating 60 and 105 day sessions, and that, far from creating a “citizen legislature,” the limited sessions allow only rich people to represent constituents. “You pretty much have to take a vow of poverty to do this job, unless you are independently wealthy or carried by some corporation that’s willing to give you as much time off as you need,” says Tukwila state Sen. Bob Hasegawa.
Dragon Treasure Found in Garbage Hoard: News of a Richland hoarder’s messy lawn has captivated Tri-Cities residents for months (there’s not a ton else going on). Even the Seattle Times has picked up the story for some reason. Anyway, there’s been a major development: a hideous dragon statue missing since May and apparently beloved by the local community has been salvaged from the hoarder house, according to the Tri-City Herald.
Sheriffs Sue Governor Over Sheriff Accountability Law: Enough Washington Democrats are freaked out about pro-Trump county sheriffs ignoring state law that lawmakers passed a bill this past legislative session giving the state’s law enforcement board the authority to effectively fire sheriffs for misconduct, just like other law enforcement officers. Far-right Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank threatening legislators during a hearing on the bill didn’t help the sheriffs’ cause. Spokane’s county sheriff, who led the lobbying charge against the bill, said Swank ruined sheriffs’ chances of killing the bill as they had in prior years. Now he and three other sheriffs are suing Gov. Ferguson over it, the Spokesman Review reports.
Family of Man Found in Green Lake Need Money to Bring Him Home: Nahashon Kamau Wanyoike went missing last month. Police found his body in Green Lake last week, and now his family is raising $25,000 via GoFundMe to return him to Kenya where he was born. The family suspects Wanyoike died by suicide, but the police investigation is still ongoing, KIRO 7 reports.
Associated Press Lays Off Staff in Pivot to Video and AI: It’s always a bad sign when you open up your local newspaper and discover the day’s news is not written by the paper’s staff, or even covering local issues, but is instead a reprint of whatever wire service stories the publisher has a deal to republish. Well, that local paper may be even thinner soon. The AP is laying off dozens of staff and switching to a business model focused on video content and working with AI companies. Executive editor and senior vice president Julie Pace told one of her own reporters “we’re not a newspaper company and we haven’t been for quite some time.” This is not what you want to hear from the head of your newspaper company.
US and Iran Destroy Oil Production in Tit for Tat Attacks: In response to US attacks on its Asaluyeh petrochemical plants yesterday, Iran bombed Saudi Arabia’s Jubail petrochemical complex on Tuesday, Reuters reports. President Trump threatened to bomb further civilian targets Tuesday morning if the Iranian government does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows, and which the Iranians closed after the unprovoked US-Israeli invasion last month.
“A whole civilization will die tonight”: That’s the best diplomatic overture the president could muster this morning to convince Iran to come back to the negotiating table. Given the negotiation terms demanded by the US are near unconditional surrender, expect continued escalation. Trump gave the Iranian’s an evening deadline, but he moves those around at will to manipulate the market.
“Super El Niño” Threatens Extreme Summer Heat: El Niño years are hot. This year could be hotter. According to a new forecast, sea temperatures in a key part of the Pacific Ocean are hotter than usual. Writes the Washington Post: “The Western United States, parts of Africa, Europe, and India could face a hotter-than-average summer, some tropical countries, such as those in the Caribbean and Indonesia could face worse drought and extreme heat, while more tropical cyclones could develop in the Pacific, with fewer in the Atlantic.” For reference, we live in the Western United States.
UK Bans Ye: The anti-Semitic rapper formerly known as Kanye West has been banned from entering the United Kingdom for, you guessed it, all the anti-Semitic stuff he said. British audiences hoping to hear his hit song “Heil Hitler” are sure to be disappointed. Details in the Guardian.
Why the Economy Is About to Collapse: I’ve been waving around a map by J.P. Morgan Global Research for the past week like a mad prophet trying to explain that America’s Forever War in the Middle East is finally coming home to roost. Thankfully a YouTuber has now translated that chart into short form video content explaining why the oil is about to run out.